What Baby's First Day Home Is Really Like?

Bringing your newborn home is a rollercoaster of emotions and transitions. Newborns eat, sleep, scream, and explore their new surroundings, while parents deal with feeding schedules and emotional ups and downs. The first day is essential for connecting with the infant and recognising their signals, all while dealing with probable sleep loss and hormonal shifts.

Utkarsha Gupta
Updated:3 Oct 2024, 6:35 pm
Pregatips
In the past, the first few days in the hospital with a baby may have seemed like a small vacation, but you didn't realise it: nurses looked after your needs, someone brought you food, you could sleep, and a lactation consultant was only a phone call away. Two to four days later, assuming an uneventful delivery, homecoming was a jumble of emotions, sleep deprivation, and, maybe, mild mayhem. To help you prepare, here's what to expect on Day 1 for you and your newly extended family.

What's it like for a baby?

Baby is just a few days old and is adjusting to life outside your womb, which is major work! Expect them to do a lot of eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping, and crying on their first day back home.
  • Eating: Newborns have stomachs the size of a Ping-Pong ball and eat every two to four hours, for a total of eight to twelve feeding sessions each day. Do not feel obligated to follow a routine straight away. Instead, if you are nursing, attempt to feed on demand. "Breastfeeding meets so many needs—warmth, the need to suck, skin-to-skin contact, the desire to be held," explains Ms. Amrita A Sivasanker, Department of Child Health Nursing, SSNSR, Sharda University.
  • Pooping and peeing: With now, meconium, the tarlike goop that occurs in the first day or two of life, should have been replaced with greenish transitional faeces that will later become yellowish and may be dotted with little "seeds." Look for at least three to six wet nappies every day.
  • Sleeping: "When a baby comes home, they're incredibly tired," says Ms. Amrita. "The journey will be tough. It may be the baby's first exposure to fresh air, cold, sun, and the outside world. So a short drive will result in a very tired infant.
  • Crying (or other sounds): Crying is the way newborns convey their wants, whether they are hungry, uncomfortable, cranky, or want to suck. Once the need is met, your child should quiet down. When holding and rocking the infant doesn't seem to help, experts recommend cupping the baby's head in your hands, elevating it gently, and whispering to them calmly. Most babies will stop crying as they try to hear you. They will also open their eyes to gaze at you. If your infant is crying regardless of what you do, contact your paediatrician.

When to contact the doctor?

  • The skin remains blue throughout: This includes not only the blue hands and feet, which revert to normal pink when warmed up, but also the complete body, particularly during feeding. The symptoms might be indicative of impaired heart and lung function. Seek medical assistance immediately.
  • Yellowing of the skin and eyes: These are usually indications of jaundice.
  • Vomiting occurred repeatedly: This is more violent and louder than spitting up. While sometimes this might suggest the baby is sensitive to anything in your breast milk or formula, it is more probable that the baby has an intestinal blockage, gastro-oesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), or an infection such as rotavirus.
  • Rashes: Redness, puffiness, and pus surround the umbilical cord stump. It might get contaminated.
  • Extreme lethargy: If you're constantly waking your baby around the four-hour mark, your doctor may want to check for infection and make sure they're gaining weight and receiving enough drink.
  • Rectal temperature value of 100.4 F or higher: A high fever in a baby indicates a dangerous illness that requires prompt examination.
  • Coughing: Anything more than small sputters while feeding (caused by milk getting in too rapidly) might be an indicator of respiratory problems.
  • Less than three wet nappies in 24 hours: The baby is displaying indications of dehydration and insufficient feedings. Dark yellow or pink-tinged urine is a sign of dehydration.
  • Any major changes in the baby's appearance and behaviour: For example, a faint scream, continuous sobbing, or poor sucking reflexes are symptoms of worry.

What is it like mentally for a new mother?

The first 24 hours (and possibly longer) will undoubtedly be an emotional roller coaster. Once your baby arrives, your body attempts to balance the hormonal and chemical soup that may cause mood swings—weepiness, excitement, irritability—which are exacerbated by the extreme physical effort and lack of sleep. Not unexpectedly, the baby blues might appear at the same time, during the first week postpartum.
Fatigue is likely to screw with your brain, particularly when you haven't slept much since early labour. When everyone finally goes to bed, you're probably wide awake, checking on the infant to make sure everything is well.Medically approved by Ms. Amrita A Sivasanker, Department of Child Health Nursing, SSNSR, Sharda University.

FAQs on What Baby's First Day Home Is Really Like?

  1. What is the toughest week for a newborn?The first six to eight weeks of a new baby's life are usually the most difficult. While many of the hardships of early motherhood are not widely discussed (if at all), there are a number of frequent obstacles you may encounter during this period.
  2. Can a baby sense its mother?
    According to research, your baby experiences the same emotions that you do throughout pregnancy—and with equal intensity. That implies that if you cry, your kid experiences the same feeling as if it were their own. During the gestation period, your baby prepares for life in the outer world.

About the Author

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Utkarsha Gupta

Utkarsha Gupta is a seasoned freelance writer with 7 years of professional experience and a PGDM degree from FMS IRM, Jaipur. Despite her roots in management, her passion for writing led her to transition into the content industry. Utkarsha works as a freelancer with Pregatips who excels in crafting SEO-optimized content and specializes in a diverse range of topics, including pregnancy related articles/blogs, fashion trends, health industry insights, technical writing, and news articles. Committed to delivering engaging and unique content, she relies on thorough research and a keen understanding of audience interests to create impactful and timely pieces.

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